Chapter 10: That Escalated Quickly

Someone got married over the weekend, and we weren't invited. Supermodel Amanda Marks and actor Shawn McMann got married over the weekend in a secret ceremony. A source tells us that they had flown away on vacation and came home hitched. Shawn and Austin King, the supposed father of her baby, have a sketchy history and both will tell you they can't stand the other. Talk about a co-parenting nightmare!

Austin watched as Reagan came in and unloaded sandwich after sandwich. They'd sent him to get food, and he was starting to think maybe it wasn't the best idea. He knew Reagan could eat a lot, but obviously, he hadn't been around the kid recently.

"Did you decide you were extra hungry tonight?" Austin asked motioning to all the food on the table.

"Nah, I ran into Shelby before I left. She was headed to the cafeteria, but it was closed. I offered to take her to get something."

His eyebrow rose and he wondered, "She ordered all this?"

With a mouthful of his own sandwich obviously hungry enough not to wait, Reagan shook his head and finally said, "No, she said she didn't want to leave Mrs. Morris, and that she didn't want anything. I just figured it's a long time until anything opens up here, so I picked up a few things to take her."

"Oh dear," their mom broke in, "What's wrong with that poor girl? Those kids have been through enough."

"I dunno," Reagan told her. "She didn't tell me."

"Yeah, I'm not sure either," Austin supplied.

After another bite of his dinner, Reagan said, "She said Mrs. Morris is in ICU."

Austin's mom gave him a sad smile. "Maybe you should go check on her Austin. She'd probably be happy to see you."

If their past encounters were any indication, Austin wasn't so sure. "I'm not sure I'm the person she needs to see right now," he told his mom.

"Sweetheart, why not?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn't want to get into this, but he knew his mom wouldn't drop it. "It's not exactly like we've been friends all these years. I haven't talked to her in almost five years."

"Still, a friendly face is always welcome. Listen to your dear, 'ol mom. It'll make her happy."

"You're not old, Mom."

Reagan snorted. "Suck up."

"Not ashamed to admit it," he said with a wink.

Grabbing his uneaten sandwich and the extras, he headed off toward ICU. Knowing the issues he had with Rita, he had no idea if he'd be able to find where Shelby even was, but he'd give it a try... for his mom. That's what he was telling himself anyway.

Seeing Shelby again was bringing up a lot of old feelings. He kept that part of his life locked away. That's why he didn't come home anymore; he didn't want to open old wounds. He hadn't been very nice to her when they were breaking up, but who could blame him. Shelby was ripping his heart out. He was lashing out and trying to hurt her like she was hurting him. He had ended up saying a lot of mean things to her when he realized she was breaking his heart. He regretted it, and he should be a man and tell her that, but he couldn't even stand to be around her still. How was he going to have that conversation?

Shelby was still as beautiful as he remembered her. She'd filled out, gotten some curves, but she looked the same to him. Her long, light brown hair was still shiny and looked soft like he could run his hands through it for hours. She also had these big brown eyes that could bring him to his knees. If she looked at him and begged him for anything, no matter what it was, he'd give it to her. He'd have to. Austin knew he needed to watch out, or he'd be in a world of hurt when it came to her. Just the couple of times he'd been around her had reminded him what he could never have and wasn't that just a kick in the ass.

The nurse in ICU was much nicer than Rita, directing him to Anna's room. When he stuck his head in, he saw Shelby in the corner with her nose in a book. He stood at the door for a few minutes to watch her before she looked up and spotted him.

"Hey." She sat up putting the book away.

"Reagan sent me with food," he told her holding up the bag.

Shaking her head at him, she said "I told him I was fine. You guys don't need to keep buying me stuff."

"He was going out anyway, so it was no big deal." Austin moved into the room and sat the sack down in front of her and started to unload the loot. "I think he wanted a midnight snack because he bought three extras. It looks like you have a choice, turkey, ham, or club."

"Turkey's great. Thanks."

Austin put the sandwich in front of her and placed the rest in the bag. He was going to offer another, but then he heard a loud beep. He looked over toward Anna, but Shelby didn't seem concerned and explained it was one of the machines.

"How is she?" he asked.

"They say she's stable. They won't really tell me more than that. We're just waiting now."

Reaching out, he touched her hand. "I hope you get some answers soon."

"So do I." After a few seconds Shelby pulled her hand back like Austin's was on fire, but then asked him, "Hey, you wanna pull up a chair and eat?"

He shouldn't. He should just say no, but he was always a glutton for punishment that's why he said, "Sure."

After they got situated and started eating, Shelby started talking again, "So, are you going to be in town for long?"

"I dunno. With Mom and Dani both on the mend, I'll need to stick around for a bit to deal with Reece. I'm going to head back to Horace as soon as they let us just to see if there's anything to save."

"Colby said it should only be a couple more days."

Austin flinched. There was only one Colby he knew. "Colby Taylor?"

"Yeah, we went to school together."

"I remember." He remembered what an asshole the prick was. He hated that asswipe.

"Oh okay. Well, he said they were going to be letting us back in in a couple days, so you should be able to head over then."

"Do you need me to check anything out for you?" Austin was offering to be nice, but he really wanted to know if there was something more going on with Colby. Why would Shelby be with him? He'd always been a dick to her when they were in school, at least he had been when Austin was around.

She shook her head. "No, thanks. I'll get it figured out."

"Anyone ever tell you that you don't accept help very well?" he asked with a chuckle.

Her brows furrowed. "Why? Because I don't want you to pay for my drink, take me to dinner, and have you check up on me? Maybe I just don't want your help? Ever think about that?"

"Well, that escalated quickly," he thought. "And that's my cue to leave."

"I'm sorry," Shelby rushed to say. "That was very rude, and I'm sorry. I can't do this with you Austin."

He cocked his head to the side. "Do what?"

"Have you come in like you always do and try and fix everything. My life is not your concern, and I just can't let you act like I matter in your life."

Well damn, that stung because he could see her mattering if the situation were different. "Point made. I'll go. Sorry I care."

"Austin, it isn't like that."

"Sure."

"It's just-"

The ringing phone in his pocket saved him from the awkward conversation that was about to go down. Thanking whoever it was, he sent her a half wave and headed for the door. He couldn't do this with her right now either. Looking down at the phone he'd fished from his pocket, he saw it was Nate, and since he hadn't talked to him since he landed, he needed to take this. His old man had been his manager and PR guy, and with him out of the picture, Nate was the guy who'd stepped in. He hated to put him in that position, but it was better than the other option at the moment. Feeling like shit for doing it he accepted the call, and then told Shelby, "I guess I'll see you around," before walking out the door and down to talk to his buddy and bandmate.

When Austin grunted a greeting, Nate said, "If you were busy, you didn't have to answer."

"Nah, it's cool. Sorry I didn't call."

"Hey, we've been trying to give you space. We didn't know what had happened and if you'd found everyone yet."

"Yeah, I did. They're all okay. Mom's got a broken pelvis and leg, and Dani broke her arm. They're on the mend though and doing good."

"That's good to hear. The guys and I just wanted you to know we got it covered. There have been some people poking around, but I've covered it as much as I could. I'm probably going to put my PR guy on it, so if you get a call from him, you know why. I hate to do it, but if we need to cancel the studio session next week, we can."

Austin ran a hand through his hair. "No, don't do that yet. I don't think they're going to let Mom out anytime soon, and Dani'll have Reagan if she's even out. Worse case I'll come in last minute and fly back as soon as we're finished. We're only in the studio for a few days anyway."

"I'll text you the schedule, but if you need to stay, just do it, okay?" Austin was about to tell him okay when Nate when on, "Oh, one more thing."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Your dad."

"Asshat." If there was a surefire way to get his blood pressure up, it was the old man.

"Yeah, well he's been calling me. He wants an update on the Amanda Marks thing, and wants to know why he can't find you."

The man had some nerve. "If he hasn't turned on the news long enough to know that the place he used to live is a pile of rubble, then he can go to hell."

"That's what I told him."

Austin barked out a laugh. "Really? You, Nate Larson, told my dad to go to hell."

"What? Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Let me explain this one more time. We all have a persona that the fans have given us. It's something that has been in existence since boy bands first started. We all have a roll. I'm the bad boy, KT's the heartthrob, Wil's the shy one even though we never will understand why they think that, and you are what the fans call the older brother. Everyone loves you, and you're respectful to a fault. We all have seen what a hard ass you can be, but no one would expect you to tell someone to go to hell."

"Hey, someone has to look out for all you jokers."

"We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just let me know if you decide you want to stay there. None of us would blame you, Austin. Just say the word."

"I will. Thanks again."

"No problem."

Hanging up the phone, Austin headed back toward his mom's room. He'd done his good deed for the day, and he was leaving. He needed some space, and that was just all there was to it. Shelby had told him to pretty much go fuck himself, and she was friendly with Colby fucking Taylor. That kid was a douche just like his old man, at least he used to be. He supposed people could change, but he wasn't much for giving the benefit of the doubt anymore.

When he got back to Dani's room, Reece was curled up in bed with her mom asleep, and Reagan was staring at the TV. They both looked like he felt, dazed, confused, and worn out. Dani must have felt the same way because he went to tell her they were leaving, but she didn't even open her eyes. Looking down at Reece he couldn't bear to wake her. She looked too peaceful, and someone deserved some peace right now. Instead of waking her, he picked the little girl up and headed out to the car. Once everyone was situated, he got behind the wheel and headed back to the hotel. He was going to have to do something. Going back and forth between the two was killing them. It was an hour drive, and the hours were catching up with them all. Once he went back to L.A., he didn't want Reagan having to drive between the two towns on his own. It was just one more thing to add to his to-do list. That list was so long, and he was always thinking about it. Once they got to the room, Reagan and Austin got Reece ready for bed before they both fell into their own beds, and he was ready to pass the hell out.